Ho'oheno i ka pu'uwai
by mustachey5
Summary: This is set pre-season one. Cath and Steve's journey from their very first meeting right up to the beginning of season one and how they get to become McRoll, with quite a few hiccups along the way. "Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors" - African Proverb
1. A New Adventure

**A/N: Hello! this is my new McRoll fic- Basically it's Cath and Steve's journey from their first meeting right up to the beginning of season 1, the fic will span the five or so years before Season 1. There will be time jumps but all dates are indicated in italic at the beginning of the section- Enjoy and Mahalo for reading!**

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_**A New Adventure**_

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"_Every new friend is a new adventure... the start of more memories."_

_._

_Kuwait Naval Base - January 2005_

Catherine was ushered into a small room in one of the buildings at the edge of the base. The air con had been on the blink lately and the room was thick with the damp and hot air of the desert. She pulled her collar away from the skin of her neck, feeling the sweat trickle down from her hairline. She was going to need a serious shower at the end of this shift. There were about a dozen other people in the room with her. There were several members of naval intelligence, another sailor who like her, was a few years out of Annapolis, the two commanding officers and the SEAL team. This was her first major operation, after a highly successful recon mission, in which she played a major role in gathering and validating their intel, she had been roped in to help update and plan the strike that the SEAL team were going to be carrying out as a result of her intel. When she had received the news she was close to bursting with pride, her dream had been to join the navy but beyond that she hadn't really planned. The minute she got involved with intelligence she knew she had found her calling and to be given such a responsibility so soon out of the academy was a massive honour. This was her chance to shine and leave a lasting impression on the naval intelligence officers that she'd be working with. She glanced over at the SEAL team that stood opposite her, there were six of them, they all looked fairly similar if you disregarded eye and hair colour. They were all around 6 foot tall, very broad shoulders and clearly exceptionally strong, like clones of each other. Two of them stood out to her, they must have been only a few years older than her, the youngest of the six. They stood side by side, one had dusty blonde hair and the other had dark brown. She turned her focus towards the man stood before them, the Commanding officer for the operation.

"We're all here now so I will make this brief." His voice has deeper than expected and a lot softer than she thought it would be.

"We have intel that confirms our suspicions that a terrorist cell is hiding out in the village." He said, indicating to the map on the screen beside him.

"We have a strike planned for 2230 hours, before then we need to ensure that they are monitored carefully and closely, we have come close to catching them many a time for them to slip out at the last second. I will not allow that to happen again, we need every bit of information and surveillance we can get and we need it promptly. Rollins, I would like you to work with Lieutenant McGarrett, update him as quickly as possible then I need the pair of you doing the surveillance, McGarrett I need you to learn that terrain like the back of your hand, you will be the eyes on the ground and Rollins will be the eyes in the sky." The Commander continued, he gestured to the young brunette SEAL that she had noticed earlier.

"I need you two to get to work right away, if anything comes up I need to know immediately- we only have a small window of opportunity." Catherine nodded, she could feel the adrenaline beginning to pump through her, this was what she loved about the navy, the thrill of the chase. She silently followed as the SEAL labelled as Lieutenant McGarrett led their way out of the room. They pushed out into the quiet corridor and he turned to face her.

"Rollins, right?"

"Catherine Rollins, Ensign" She nodded and he smiled lightly

"Lieutenant Steve McGarrett, SEAL Team 7" He replied.

.

Three hours later and Catherine had run through every piece of intel that they had on the terrorist cell- twice. So now she and McGarrett, as she had taken to calling him, were sat tapping away at computers side by side, trying to establish satellite surveillance of the village. She couldn't quite decide whether she liked the guy or not. He seemed friendly enough, incredibly intelligent and clearly very good at what he does, another point in his favour was that if the drum of his fingers against the desk was anything to go by, he was as much of a ball of nerves as she was before an operation. But the biggest point for him was that he had spent a couple of years doing naval intelligence. On the other hand, he was stubborn, a little arrogant and had taken to calling her Cath- despite her constant attempts to remind him that her name was in fact Catherine. They had a couple more hours before the team had to gear up, pack up and head off to the drop zone and as far as Cath could see it was a couple of hours too many. The whole 'Cath' situation was really beginning to get on her nerves and the constant finger percussion wasn't precisely helping. Eventually with an exaggerated sigh she gave in and turned to see what he was bugging her about this time.

"I can't access the satellite surveillance, it won't appear on the screen.." he explained, poking various buttons on the keyboards and huffing in frustration when nothing happened.

"Here. Let me try" Cath pushed him gently back and leaned over, tapping away quickly n his keyboard and in a mater of seconds the image popped on to the display.

"There you go" She said triumphantly

"Cheers , how did you do that?" He asked, a smile playing on his lips as he turned to face her.

"You had hit the sleep button on your keyboard ..." She replied smirking and he snorted lightly- at least he didn't appear to take himself all that seriously. His smile morphed into a full on grin and okay, she hadn't noticed the dimples before hand- that's just not playing fair. She glanced away quickly and focussed on her own computer screen.

"What's going on in the bottom left corner?" He asked after a few minutes

"What?"

"Look, Zoom it in , there's something moving."

"Crap, you're right" She said as she tapped away, zooming the image into the area he had spotted movement.

"They're on the move.." She said muttering a string of curses under her breath

"It's too soon... crap." He hissed as he shoved his chair back and darted off to find his Commander.

.

_A couple of hours later_

"Lieutenant McGarrett?" Catherine spotted him just as he was about to turn round the corner at the other end of the corridor.

"Hi" He nodded as he turned back to face her, walking back towards her.

"How did debriefing go?" She asked as he came to stop in front of her.

"Commander wasn't too happy but there isn't much we can do. We'll follow your intel until they pop up again. It's a pain in the ass though." She nodded in sympathy, it was incredibly frustrating to watch all their carefully gathered intel go to waste , but they were powerless to do anything else.

"It was a pleasure to work with you, you did a great job and I'm sorry we couldn't have done more with your work." He continued.

"Likewise Lieutenant"She smiled and shook his outstretched hand.

"You are incredibly skilled with computers, I may need to borrow you for a favour or two in the future" He smiled at her and she looked at him.

"I'm not an object, you can't borrow me..." she said and his smile widened , though he tried to hide it.

"Of course you're not an object. You're an exceptionally talented naval officer, who will no doubt become a highly successful intelligence officer. " He said grinning at her, his tone immediately changing from conversational to flattering, his eyes sparkling.

"Nice try" She drawled catching his pretty pathetic attempt of smooth talking.

"They don't call me smooth dog for nothing" He smirked

"I doubt they call you that at all " she muttered and he laughed, his dimples reappearing.

"Goodbye McGarrett, it was lovely meeting you." She finally replied, because her mother had raised her to be polite and courteous to everyone including slightly arrogant Navy SEALs. She smiled shortly at him and turned back to walk back the way she came but he caught her arm, and turned her back to face him.

"Cath?"

"For the last time _McGarrett, _it's Catherine."She growled and he simply smiled back at her.

"Till next time." He smiled and she frowned at him.

"I hope there won't be a next time" She muttered in a silent prayer.

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_Coronado Naval Base - April 2005_

There was something oddly relaxing about working out late at night. Catherine stood in the empty gym, she occasionally glanced down at her watch noting as late night slipped into the early morning. She had just gotten of the phone with her father and right now what she needed to do was to unwind. So here she was, taking it all out on an old punching bag that hung in the corner of the gym, her iPod turned up as loud as it would go in an attempt to drown out the world outside. She was quickly pulled from her now metronomic strikes of the bag by the gentle tap of a hand on her shoulder, she jumped despite her self and turned to face – probably the caretaker at her best guess who was most likely going to be having a not too polite word about her new found habit of breaking into the gym to work out... at 1am...

"Can I help?" She asked, pulling her iPod from her waistband and pausing the song as she pulled an earphone out to face the owner of the hand.

"Rollins" The familiar face of the SEAL beamed down at her, taking in her slightly sweaty appearance. After the operation that they had worked together, they had bumped into each other a few times. To Catherine's surprise they had actually gotten along incredibly well, they had the same sense of humour so the quick banter that they soon established often bought a smile to her face. They had quickly become friends before he shipped off for a short deployment in March, not however before he had managed to discover her cell number. She hadn't heard that they had arrived back so she assumed he had only just gotten back to base, that and the fact that she knew that he also had a habit of visiting the gym in the middle of the night- another habit they had found out quite quickly that they had in common.

"So who pissed in your wheaties this morning?" He teased, his grin widening slightly as he nodded down at the gloves on her hands.

"This poor bag took quite a beating." He continued, running his hand down the tough leather of the punching bag hanging beside them.

"That? Oh, that was nothing, a light warm-up" She replied, not even trying to hide the growing smile on her face. Her earlier stresses completely forgotten.

"Warm-up? Nah, that was full throttle." He said with a smile, baiting her as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You couldn't beat me in a fight so I don't know what you're chatting about" She said, pulling the other earphone out and wrapping them carefully round her iPod.

"You know this whole tough girl persona you're going for would work a hell of a lot better if I hadn't just caught you singing along to Chicago." His smile grew as she froze

"I was not singing" She hissed, her cheeks reddening because – yeah she probably had been.

"Well it was some rather loud humming then" He laughed as she scowled at him.

"Strange music choice for a boxing workout.." He continued and her scowl deepened

"I would beat you in a fight any day and you know it McGarrett."

"I'm not so sure about that.." He said as he padded over to the sparring mat in the centre of the deserted gym, kicking of his shoes and socks as he went, beckoning her to join him with a nod of his head as he pulled his arms above his head to stretch the joints.

"Well let me give you a first hand demonstration" She sneered back teasingly as she followed him over, throwing her gloves over her shoulder.

.

They dropped down on to the mat side by side catching their breath. Cath moved first, pulling herself up to crawl over to her water bottle and take a healthy gulp.

"So what's eating you up?" Steve pushed gently

"Who said anything was eating me up?" She deflected, focusing on picking the label of her bottle with her nail. He simply sat there watching her as he waited patiently for her to answer. Eventually she dropped the bottle and leaned forward, resting her chin on her arms that lay crossed over her knees.

"It probably sounds really stupid." She admitted quietly and took a deep breath as she began to fiddle with a loose thread on her shorts.

"I had a little brother... He died when he was 14. He was perfectly fit and healthy and then all of a sudden in the middle of a football match he collapsed. They said he was dead before he hit the ground- some undiagnosed heart condition... That was 7 years ago today."

"That's not stupid, you lost someone you love, that's grief not stupidity." Steve said, shuffling closer to her to place a hand on her shoulder.

"I know but it's just that 7 years later and I still can't get over it, every year no matter how much better I think I've got it all goes to pieces today." She sighed.

"I know the feeling" Steve admitted as he lay back down again, staring up at the ceiling.

"Really?" She probed gently.

"May 10th , a crappy day every year, no matter what." Steve sighed slightly and bought his hands up to tuck behind his neck and support his head.

"Why May 10th?"

"May 10th is the day my mom died." Steve explained

"It's never been the same since." He huffed quietly and they sat in silence, letting the information the other had just shared sink in. After a few minutes Steve sat up again and pulled Cath's bottle from her lap, taking a large gulp before chucking it back into her lap. He stood and held a hand out to pull her up but she knocked it out the way and stood on her own. Sensing the end of discussion she went with it, it was a relief to have talked to someone and even better to know Steve knew exactly what she was going through. She was surprised he had told her something so personal, he had never mentioned his family before hand and now she began to realise why. As they say, everyone has their secrets. She stretched again, working out the ache in her side, she was grateful for the brief distraction Steve had given her and she wasn't going to lie, she did get quite a kick out of hitting his stupidly pretty face- fair game as she saw it.

"I can't wait to find some of your SEAL buddies and tell them you got beaten by a girl" She smirked nodding her head back to the mat where they had sparred.

"Beaten? No, no, no, you did not beat me." He replied indignantly crossing his arms across his broad chest.

"I most certainly did and I could do it again, easy." She smirked, crossing her arms across her chest to mimic his pose.

"You asking for a rematch?" He asked, breaking into a smile to rival hers

"Only if you think you can cope, wouldn't want you breaking a nail now would we?" She teased as she sauntered back on to the mat and turned to face him.

"It is on Rollins."

* * *

_Coronado Naval Base Mess Halls - May 2005_

Catherine had woken that morning with a sinking feeling in her gut telling her to just stay in bed. Her gut had been right- as it normally was. She had been running back and forth all day from office to office, passing on message after message. Someone had thrown a grenade at the president. The media were in uproar, phones were constantly ringing and the military were suddenly put on high alert. By the time she finally made it to dinner it was a little before 9pm and she'd been up for 16 hours already. She practically collapsed into her chair in the mess halls, willing herself not to fall asleep and end up face first in her dinner.

"You still kicking round this joint?" A familiar voice caught her from nearly doing just that and she turned to see none other than Steve McGarrett walk up to her table and drop his tray of food down. The mess hall was pretty quite, only a few tables occupied by small groups.

"Are you following me McGarrett?" She smiled as she pulled her tray in slightly closer, allowing him to deposit his opposite hers.

"Is that a _thing_ now?" He asked, a small frown accompanying the usual smirk.

"Is what a _thing _now?" She replied, mimicking his tone. He shot her a look.

"I have a name you know, like a first name- feel free to use it, unless you call everyone by their surname?" He said as he began to pick at the tray of limp looking food before him.

"No, McGarrett just flows better. " She shrugged as she took a sip from her water bottle, trying to hide the smile on her face as he huffed quietly.

"Anyway" She continued "You never answered my question." He glanced up at her and raised an eyebrow, his mouth full of food, his fork halfway between the plate and his chin.

"Are you following me? This is the second time you've ambushed me in as many months."

"I could ask you the same question" He said between mouthfuls.

"You've always been the one to come and talk to me, never the other way round." She reasoned, pushing her tray to the side.

"I think that just proves your antisocial" He smirked and she snorted slightly.

"I'd rather be antisocial than a stalker." She retorted and downed the rest of her water.

"So coincidentally bumping into someone twice in two months is stalking? Clearly I'm not doing a very good job."

"I thought you didn't believe in coincidences?" She replied and he shrugged half-heartedly.

"Fate has clearly decided that we should be spending more time together, who am I to argue?" He said, his smirk spreading to a full on grin- dimples and all.

"Fate..sure.." She drawled and shook her head

"You don't like spending time with me? I'm hurt" He said, feigning shock as he took another bite of his dinner.

"No, I love spending time with you, I look forward to our every meeting." The sarcasm dripping from her tone.

"Of course you do" He smiled matter of factly, clearly ignoring the sarcasm in her previous statement.

"You think you're so smooth" She said and his grin only widened.

"I'm just trying to get some quality colleague bonding time.." His wolfish smile remaining.

"There are plenty of other colleagues in here you could have _bonded_ with."

"You were sat on your own and looked lonely" He supplied

"I looked lonely?" She asked in mocking disbelief

"Navy's a lonely place" He said as he placed his knife and fork down on his now empty plate. They sat in silence for a little bit, mulling over the days events.

.

"You doing anything this evening?" He asked out of the blue.

"It's nearly 10pm and I have to be up for work at 4.45 am..." She explained slowly

"I just thought we could, I don't know, catch up or something?" He replied weakly, trying for casual and missing by a good mile.

"Yeah..." she drawled

"I thought we could spend some time together, help me take my mind of things and you look like you could do with a distraction yourself."

"Distraction? And what sort of 'distraction' did you have in mind?" She asked, sensing that his idea of a 'distraction' was not really what she had in mind. He shrugged and sighed as he stretched out tired joints.

"I thought we could help each other out..." He admitted, running his hands through his short hair.

"What do you mean?" She asked slowly, was he seriously trying to...?

"I really need a break Cath, to unwind, blow of some steam, you know?" he sighed, the exhaustion of the day written all over his face. He looked as though he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"You asking me out on a date?" She asked in mock horror- something was wrong but she knew pushing him right now probably wouldn't do any good.

"Don't flatter yourself" He laughed, the smile returning to his face. She snorted in reply.

"What did you have in mind?" She asked glancing at her watch- she could still fit in her necessary 5 hours of sleep.

"Alcohol and a lot of it"

.

They sat next to each other in the booth at the back of the bar, each staring into the bottom of their glass, neither saying a word to the other. Their shoulders brushing with every breath, she could smell the alcohol on him, he hadn't been kidding when he said a lot. Something was eating him up, badly. He downed the last of the whiskey that sat at the bottom of the tumbler and inhaled sharply, he stood quickly, throwing himself slightly of balance and he grabbed to steady himself on the table, the room spinning around him.

"'Nother?" He mumbled nodding towards her half full glass.

"I'm fine... you might want to slow down a little or you're gonna have a thumping head in the morning." She smirked as he blinked slowly, dropping back into his seat.

"You offering to kiss it better?" He teased as he turned to face her, nearly slipping out of the chair sideways. She laughed as she grabbed his shoulder, pulling him safely back upright and moved round to slip out of the booth herself.

"I'm getting you a glass of water and you will drink all of it, then you are going to bed and I hope I do not have to see you tomorrow – you are going to have a seriously sore head" He nodded weakly and rested his head against the table and waited for her to return. When she eventually did he drank a sip of the glass and passed it back to her.

"I'm good" He smiled lopsidedly as he pushed the glass away.

"All of it" She glared at him. He stuck out his bottom lip in a final plea but did as she asked, sending her stink eyes the whole time. She pulled him out of the chair and navigated them towards the door but he pulled free from her grasp and wobbled for a second, she caught his elbow.

"Let's go, come on McGarrett, I'm not carrying your sorry ass back to your room."

"We could go to your room, then you wouldn't have to carry me as far.." He suggested as he righted himself, shaking the fuzziness clear and followed her out of the bar.

"Or you could go to your room and I could go to mine?" She said slowly, wondering if maybe he was more drunk than she originally thought.

"Well that's not very practical is it?" He mumbled his face screwing up in confusion, sobering slightly as the cool night breeze picked up a little.

"Practical? What precisely did you have in mind McGarrett?" She asked turning to face him , her voice carrying a dangerous edge, because she could put up with a drunk Steve but she would not put up with a drunk Steve trying to get lucky.

"No... It's lonely... Lot's of people here and still lonely..." He said throwing his hand around in a gesture she assumed to indicate he was talking about the base. She sighed and pulled her light cardigan tighter round herself, it was surprisingly cool out. Steve was feeling lonely and looking for _company_ but she was cold, tired a little moody and not at all in the mood for his attempts to sweet talk, if he wanted that sort of company then as far as she cared she probably should have left him in the bar for one of the barmaids. She turned to walk away but Steve grabbed her elbow, pulling her back to him and he began walking in the opposite direction, with her in tow.

"I'm not going with you" She said shaking his arm from her and stepping back again.

"What?" He asked in confusion, reaching for her arm again but she pushed him away.

"Seriously?" She hissed.

"What?" His ignorance only confirming her assumption.

"I'm sure there are plenty of other females about who would love to help you feel less 'lonely' but I'm not going to be a notch in your bedpost McGarrett..."

"What?That's not what I meant Cath... I would never do... " He said, the smirk from earlier gone and a frown in it's place. He was sobering quickly, her words like a slap to the face, working far faster than the glass of water.

"What did you mean then?" She nearly snapped but managed to control some of the bite in her tone. She was being a bit of bitch but hey, she'd had a bad day, she was PMSing and though it probably wasn't fair to take it out on Steve, he was currently being a bit of an idiot himself.

"As I said the Navy's a lonely place, there aren't all that many people you can really talk to. I thought we...I wanted to talk, Cath.. I would never.." Steve began still slurring his words a little, his face screwed up in a mixture of confusion and hurt at Catherine's sudden outburst. And crap she had completely misunderstood what he was trying to say...

"Well some of us have had pretty crappy days McGarrett and I could do with a little space myself." She snapped, the fatigue of the day had well and truly caught up with her leaving her with a pretty short temper, added to the embarrassment of having wrongly accused him of coming on to her, she wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and pretend this day had never happened. She turned and left, heading straight for her room,as she ignored his calls for her to come back.

It wasn't until an hour later, curled up in her small bed as she reached out to set her alarm that she realised the date- May 10th. And Steve's odd behavior finally made sense.

"_May 10__th__, a crappy day every year, no matter what...May 10__th__ is the day my mom died"_

She sighed as she rolled over and tried to burrow further into her bedding. She'd been so caught up in her own issues she'd completely forgotten and now had probably only gone and made his bad day that much worse. The only thing that stung more than her own embarrassment was the knowledge that she'd probably hurt Steve as well- she'd jumped to conclusions about his intentions, what message did that send to Steve about what she thought of him? She owed him a beer- scratch that , she owed him ten beers. Then maybe she could begin to beg forgiveness for being such a crappy friend. She had been right this morning- she should have just stayed in bed.

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**A/N: Thank you so much for reading and pretty please- all reviews are greatly loved as are follows and favorites, all opinions and response welcome! Till next time!**


	2. His Point of View

_**A:N/ Thank you all so much for your reviews! I think I've managed to reply to everyone! Sorry for the delay on this chapter, it was supposed to be up a week ago but sadly a friend of mine died during the week so I've been massively delayed. Thank you all so much for your support and I hope you enjoy!**_

_**Guest- Thank you! Enjoy the chapter :) I hope to update again on Thursday/Friday**_

_**Allison- Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy this new chapter :)**_

_**Sonia- Thank you, you're very kind! I have about 19 chapters planned so I hope you enjoy them!**_

_**Guest- I'm glad you enjoyed it! I know... :) Enjoy!**_

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_**His Point of View**_

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"_You never really understand a person until you consider things fr__om his point of view.__.. Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it."_

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_Coronado Naval Base – May 2005_

Cath took a deep breath and knocked firmly on the door, breathing deeply to try and calm the nerves. She had barely slept last night, kicking herself for the way she had snapped at Steve, hoping that she would be able to make amends. She straightened down her skirt as she waited, she could hear him moving around loudly on the other side of the door and eventually after a couple of attempts, he managed to unlock the door and pull it open. His hair was ruffled, a little tuft at the back was sticking up at an odd angle. His sweatpants and t-shirt were skewed as if he had had a rather disturbed night. He blinked at her, trying to process what he was seeing.

"Cath?" Steve squinted at her, a pained expression on his face, clearly suffering from the killer hangover she had warned him about only hours earlier. His eyes sweeping her over quickly, taking in her neat uniform.

"Hey.. I wanted to talk" She said lamely, beginning to second guess whether it was really a good idea to wake him so early. His gaze fell to his wrist looking for his watch, but it wasn't there- discarded somewhere after he finally crawled his way into bed. He reached out and grabbed her hand, turning her wrist gently so he could clearly see the watch face, .

"At 5 am?" He scrubbed his hand down his face, trying to work away the exhaustion that clung to his features. The dark circles under his eyes and the frown lines indicating that he probably hadn't had a lot of sleep that night.

"I have work. Can I come in?" She asked after a beat, shifting lightly from foot to foot. She had never felt nervous around him before, but then they had never had an argument before.

"Um, yeah sure." He replied, scratching his head, still trying to blink back some of the sleep in his eyes. He pulled the door further open and stood aside to let her in the small room. Her eyes immediately fell upon the nearly empty bottle of vodka that sat on his desk beside a pile of what appeared to be photos. She walked slowly over to the desk and picked them up, glancing back at Steve who was watching her every move but not saying a word to stop her. The pictures were worn, some had creases down the centre where they had been repeatedly folded, the edges crinkled and the corners folded over. She flicked through a couple, they were old. Family pictures, the same faces reappearing throughout the series of photos. She stopped on one picture, unlike most of the others it didn't have the fold mark down the middle and the edges were surprisingly smooth and clean, as if someone had taken great care to preserve the picture. The picture was taken by a river, a small boy beamed up at the camera, a wide gap-toothed grin that produced the all too familiar dimples on each of the boy's chubby cheeks. His arm was looped round the neck of the older man that crouched beside him. The older man had the same dark hair as the young boy and identical dimples, his gaze was solely focused on the happy youngster giggling in his arms. She could feel the joy radiating off the pair, seeping through the picture. She moved on to the next picture in the pile, again this photo had clearly been looked after, the corners were slightly more worn but there were no tears or creases. This photo had been taken many years later. The four of them stood together, a happy family. They were on a football pitch, the flood lights and bleachers visible in the background. The little boy had grown up, his gappy grin replaced with a dazzling smile but the dimples remained the same. His football jersey was streaked with mud and grass stains and in his hands he clutched a football. The older man from the previous picture stood beside him, the dark hair interspersed with clusters of grey, more wrinkles were obvious around his eyes. The most noticeable change from the previous picture, aside from the height change, was the addition of two women. A younger girl was nestled into the boy's side. They had matching smiles but the girl's hair was a sandy blonde colour in contrast to his brown. She was a lot shorter than him, her head not even reaching his shoulder. Beside her was an older woman, with the same colour hair as the young girl. Her face full of as much joy as the others and a few wrinkles decorated her face. Catherine flipped the photo over to see if there was any writing on the back. In neat handwriting, in the bottom corner, a little caption was written.

_Steve's winning touchdown – December 17__th__ '92_

She flipped it back over, taking in the happy smiles on their faces. She was guessing it was one of the last photos they had taken as an entire family before Steve's mom's death. They all looked so happy, so unsuspecting. So unaware that 6 months after that picture was taken all of their lives would change forever. Catherine heard Steve move behind her, looking at the picture she had in her hand.

"I assume she's your sister" Catherine commented, pointing to the face of the smiling blonde haired girl tucked in between Steve and who she assumed to be Steve's mom. Steve didn't reply and Catherine glanced over her shoulder, his expression was clouded, like he was lost, and there was a hint of moisture in the corners of his eyes. He turned his head away quickly, hiding his face from her as he coughed, clearing his throat. He gently but firmly pulled the photos from her grasp and placed them upside down on the desk. Unable to have those memories on display, so open for the world to see.

"You said you wanted to talk.." He said after a moments pause, his voice slightly husky, whether it was from the emotion he was fighting to hide or the hangover he no doubt had , Catherine wasn't entirely sure. She nodded, turning her attention from the upturned photos to the man before her.

"I really need to apologise to you about last night" She finally said, her hands clasped in front of her.

"I completely misread what you were trying to say and..." She continued, trying to fight past the embarrassment and guilt.

"No, I get it. I was drunk, I probably said..."

"No. I was pissy and had had a crap day and I kind of took that out on you in the end." She finished, holding up a hand to stop him from talking.

"And that was the last thing you needed last night..." She trailed off as her eyes strayed back to the abandoned pictures on the table. Steve shrugged,pushing himself away from the desk and turning away from her.

"I have had worse days, I was probably just as much of an idiot to you anyway. I can hardly blame you." He sighed

"I didn't precisely help. I know how crap those days are Steve, I know those feelings. You don't have to keep it all bottled up" She said, her voice fading to a whisper, suddenly feeling so exposed in the small room. His head dropped and he inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself.

"I'm so sorry" She added her voice barely audible as she stepped towards him, wanting to reach out but also not wanting to invade on his private moment of grief. Losing someone that close to you leaves a hole, a little gap that never seems to be filled and every now and again you are reminded of the little tear in your heart. It's a pain that never leaves you, you learn to cope with it but some days it gets to much. It's a pain that changes you and shapes you. It was a pain that both Catherine and Steve were all too familiar with. He exhaled sharply, clearing his throat as he lifted his head to look at her. The emotion she knew was there only a moment ago had vanished. The steely blue of his eyes had turned cold. He was shutting himself off.

"Why are you up so early?" He replied instead, signalling the end of that conversation. Getting Steve to open up about anything emotional was impossible unless he chose to do so. She had missed her chance to talk to him and she knew it. Last night the alcohol, the painful memories and the stress of that days events had finally begun to pry open the shutters he kept firmly closed around his emotions, he had reached out to her, willing to talk about the shadowy past of his family that she knew so little about, the deep pain he kept buried so deep inside. But she had ignored him and slammed the door of opportunity closed in his face. And now those shutters that guarded the most vulnerable part of him were back in place, the stoic SEAL had returned. She sighed in defeat, and looked at him, but he ignored her pleading look, instead moving to clear the desk she still leant upon.

"I have a lot of work to catch up on from yesterday, reports to write, meetings to attend..." She explained as he grabbed the bottle from the desk, moving to place it in a cupboard. He turned back to face her, looking straight at her. She shifted slightly under his intense stare, not sure what to say.

"I should go finish getting sorted.." She said quietly, breaking the silence that had fallen between them. It was an awkward pause, she wasn't entirely sure if he just hadn't heard her or if he was deliberately ignoring her. She sighed to herself and moved towards the door, unlocking it.

"Cath?" His unsteady voice caught her as she was half way through the door and she turned back to face him.

"Thank you" He whispered once she had made eye-contact with him. A sincere look on his face.

"I haven't done anything.." She said confused slightly. Her plan to try and discuss yesterday had gone down the drain and she wasn't even sure if he had heard her apology. He smiled gently at her as he picked up the pile of photos.

"You came to see me. You understood. You cared." He said simply and she smiled in return, giving him a slow nod, Sometimes that's all the comfort you need- knowing you're not the only one.

* * *

_Coronado – June 2005_

Catherine had heard that Steve's SEAL team had arrived back at base today after their 3 week deployment. She'd missed him during the deployment. She never normally did, but she hadn't had a chance to say goodbye. He had just gone. She had finished off her work as quickly as she could and headed to his usual bar, the place he normally goes to unwind and forget after a deployment, only he wasn't there. She checked the base gym, swimming pool and even went to his room. She was about to give up on finding him when she spotted the other young SEAL on his team. She jogged over to him, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Sorry, I was just looking for McGarrett."

"Rollins?" He said, reading the name on her uniform.

"That's me" She replied, smiling awkwardly under the man's intense gaze.

"McGarrett's mentioned you a couple of times. Freddie Hart." He smiled, sticking a hand out for her to shake.

"You're the intelligence officer we worked with a couple of months ago?" He asked and she nodded.

"You looking for McGarrett?"

"Yeah, I heard he'd just got back. I've looked all over and can't find him." She explained and Freddie smiled at her.

"He's been acting a bit weird all day, not talking much. Last I saw of him, he was heading down to the beach."

"The beach?" She asked. It had been raining lightly all day and was generally overcast – hardly beach weather.

"Yeah, Silver Strand. Hawaiian at heart I guess, all weather is beach weather." He shrugged

"Thanks"

"Any time. Maybe he'll be a little more talkative with you." He replied and gave her a small wave as he continued on his way.

* * *

Pulling into the car park she spotted the lone figure sat on the sand. She jumped out of the car and trotted over to him. The light rain from earlier had finally stopped. He sat in silence, his knees drawn up to his chest, his arms crossed over them and his chin resting on his forearms. He stared out to sea, a quiet intensity in his glare. It was an overcast day, the beach was practically deserted bar the occasional jogger. She plopped down in the sand beside him, not saying a word, she waited. She drew patterns in the sand, using his fingers as combs to create swirls and ridges.

"It's not quite Hawai'i, huh?" She said eventually, turning to face him as she burrowed her feet under the warm sand, enjoying the tickling sensation.

"We had a beach..." Came his quiet reply, his gaze never faltering from the spot in the distance.

"At home, our house, it backed on to the beach. We used to swim all the time... our own little private beach." Catherine turned to look back at him, wondering where precisely this conversation was going. She simply sat and waited, mimicking his position , drawing her knees to her chest. He stretched his hand out, pointing to the spot in the distance that he seemed transfixed by.

"That's Hawai'i. 2,605 miles in that direction. That's home." He sighed and dropped his hand back down, reaching to his side and picking up his cell. He played with it, spinning it round in his hand, looking at it.

"Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I could press one button. One button and I could talk to my dad, I could feel like I'm home again. One button. But I can't even do that." He dropped the phone back down on to the sand, and dropped his head back to his knees, staring at the sand beneath him.

"You don't want to talk to him?" She asked gently. He had never told her anything about his family, except for his mother's untimely passing. She guessed from the photos she saw in his room that he had a sister, but he had never mentioned her or his father to her before. He turned his head to look at her before glancing back out to sea.

"I don't think _he_ wants to talk to _me_." He admitted quietly. Catherine sat up slightly straighter and turned to face him fully.

"When did you last speak to him?" She asked

"On the phone? A month or so after mom died. We emailed a few times during high school and Annapolis but that stopped once I graduated." She could hear the pain in his voice.

"You haven't spoken to him on the phone in what 12 years?" She asked incredulous.

"How do you know he won't want to speak to you?"She asked after a short pause. Steve inhaled deeply, shifting slightly on the sand.

"I was 16 when mom died. Mary was only 13. Dad couldn't cope. He threw himself into his work, we barely saw him in the time between her death and her funeral." He paused

"After her funeral he became even more distant and then out of the blue he tells us we're leaving."

"Leaving?" She asks

"Yeah. That Mary and I were going to the mainland. That he thought we would be better off there. He packed us up and put us on two separate planes." He whispered, kicking his feet lightly against the sand, spraying up the tiny grains that caught in the wind.

"I haven't seen either of them since. We weren't allowed back to the island and he always had an excuse why he couldn't come visit..." He turned to look at her, and she could see in his eyes the confusion, the lost 16 year old who's world had turned upside down and never managed to right itself. In that moment she couldn't remember ever having seen someone look so very lonely.

"What about after you graduated, you never went back?" She asked gently.

"He didn't even want us Cath. He got rid of us as soon as he could...He had made that pretty clear, how could I go back?" His voice cutting off as he got choked up with emotion.

"The moment my mother got in her car, that was it. Our family fell to pieces."

"I miss them...That's the worst part. After all this time, I still miss them. All of them. I see all my buddies get back after a mission, running of to call loved ones. But I can't even pick up the phone because I know they won't even answer it." His voice so quiet it was nearly drowned out by the strong breeze that had picked up. They sat in silence for a while, letting the calming sound of the waves crashing against the sand lull them.

"You never said goodbye." He said suddenly

"What?" She asked, lifting her gaze from the sand to his face.

"Before I deployed. You never came to say goodbye" He explained, a small frown on his face.

"I didn't know you'd been deployed till after you'd gone." She explained and he nodded slightly, turning back to face the waves. Conversations with Steve McGarrett change topic so quickly that it sometimes gave her a headache, but she had finally realised that when he changed topic the best thing to do was to smile and go with it, to give him the time and space he needs and then when he's ready- as he was today, he will open up.

"How did you know I was here?" He asked after another small pause.

"I heard your team had returned today, I couldn't find you anywhere on base, thought I'd try here." She answered, choosing to omit her short meeting with Freddie. He smiled briefly at her, turning back to face the waves.

"Didn't realise I was a wanted man" He laughed softly.

"I was looking forward to seeing you again" She admitted with a small shrug.

"You missed me." More a statement rather than a question, a small smile playing at his lips and she couldn't help but grin in return.

"Well, as a wise old man once told me 'The Navy is a lonely place'" She replied with a shrug, failing to hide the small giggle of laughter as his face screwed up in mock indignation.

"Old?" His smile growing into a full blown grin.

"Us loners have to stick together." She smiled, ignoring his remark as she stood to her feet, brushing the sand from the backs of her legs and turning to face him. She stuck a hand out to help him up and he accepted it, rising to his feet.

"You got somewhere to be?" He asked, brushing the sand away as he frowned down at her.

"Yes, I do. And so do you." She replied, heading towards her car and he trudged along behind her, hands burrowed in his pockets.

"Really?"

"I have a hell of a lot of alcohol back at mine and I could really do with a hand getting through it." He stopped and she turned back to face him, the frown on his face morphing into a sly grin.

"You asking me out on a date?" He teased

"You wish McGarrett, you're really not my type." She laughed and turned to continue back to her car.

"Oh Really?" He asked, falling into step beside her as they reached the car park.

"Sadly not. I prefer blondes, like your buddy, Hart isn't it? He's cute." She teased, smiling at his expression

"Freddie? I think you need your eyes tested." He asked with a raised eyebrow. She just laughed in response as they headed over to where her small blue car was parked in the corner of the lot.

"You drove?" He asked as she clicked open her car.

"Yeah. It was raining." She shrugged, her hand hovering on the door.

"Oh."

"What do you mean _oh_." She asked, turning back to face him.

"I thought you were made of tougher stuff. I guess not. Just as well it's not a date after all, you don't appear to be my type either." She raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I don't date wimps." He continued and she scoffed in response.

"Wimp? Is that a challenge McGarrett?"

"Maybe" He smiled

"Fine." She clicked her car shut again and pocketed her keys.

"First one back to base?" She asked, dropping down to tighten her shoelaces. He grinned down at her.

"If you think you can make it. It's about 3 miles." He shrugged.

"Count of three?" She asked as she stood back up.

"Sure" Steve replied readying himself.

"1...2.." Before she had a chance to say three he sprinted off.

"Cheat!" She shouted after him as he ran away cackling like a mad man, but could only smile as she tore after him. There was no way she was letting him beat her this time.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think and I should have the next update posted on Thursday/Friday! :) MAHALO!**


	3. Real Conversations

**A:N/ Thank you all for your support/reviews/favorites/follows! This is a shorter chapter but I hope you enjoy it all the same! **

* * *

_**Real conversations**_

_**.**_

"_Silences make the real conversations between friends. Not the saying but the never needing to say is what counts"_

_._

_September 2005 – A bar in Coronado_

She watched the drops of condensation trickle down the outside of her glass, running her thumb down the tracks they left behind. She sat in the corner of the busy bar, trying to ignore the throbbing music from the speakers as she took another mouthful of her drink, nose crinkling at the sharpness, feeling the warmth of it trickle through her. She had shrugged off her friends' earlier attempts to persuade her to go out together in favour of some peace and quiet. Sat in the loud bar that was anything but peace and quiet, she was beginning to regret turning down their offer of company- on the brighter side , at least she had alcohol.

"Did you miss me?" A familiar voice called from behind her. They hadn't seen each other since the end of June due to various deployments and the last thing she'd expected when she walked into the bar earlier was to bump into him again. It was a nice surprise.

"Hey" She turned and smiled at him as he approached her and gently pushed her to make room for him to drop down next to her in the booth. He nodded at the glass in front of her, the now empty glass.

"Long day?" He asked, turning to face her. They were sat so closely that their noses nearly brushed as he turned his head. She nodded, trying not to go cross eyed as she looked at him.

"You want to talk about it?" He asked softly, giving her free hand that rested on the table a quick but firm squeeze.

"No..." She replied, sighing. It had been a long day and the last thing she wanted was to relive it all again. He nodded and dropped his hand from the table.

"How have you been?" He asked in the same slightly hushed tone. She shrugged as she finished the last of her drink, dropping the empty glass back down.

"Okay, there's just so much going on. I don't think I've had a good night's sleep in weeks." She pouted, leaning her head back to rest against the back of the seat.

"How about you?" She asked, rolling her head to the side so she could look at him. He shrugged in reply.

"I'm still here." He said, his hands tracing the condensation down the glass, just as she had earlier.

"Well, that's always good." She said and he turned to smile at her.

"You did miss me." A delighted smile spreading across his face.

"Stop flattering yourself, it's not pretty." She retorted at his happy grin.

"You on your own?" He asked.

"Well I was until you turned up." She replied. He slid out of the seat to stand. He stuck his hand out to her, nodding with his head for her to join him. She raised her eyebrows in question and he smiled back at her.

"I'm meeting some guys for a drink, I want to introduce you." He said with a shy shrug as he nodded his head in the direction of a table that was at the very back of the bar. There were 3 men sat around the table, laughing openly. She immediately recognised Freddie, but didn't know the other two sailors that he sat with.

"I'll buy you a beer?" He said sweetly, flashing her his charming grin. She laughed and placed her hand in his, letting him pull her gently to her feet and guide her through the bar.

"McGarrett, we were wandering where you snuck off to." Freddie greeted the pair with a smiling nod and the other two men turned to face them as they approached.

"Guys, this is Catherine Rollins..." Steve introduced gesturing between her and the three men.

"This is Freddie Hart and Nick Taylor." Steve said gesturing to Freddie and the man sat next to him, he was shorter and had strawberry blonde hair.

"And this is Billy Harrington" He gestured to the final man who gave the pair a wave and goofy smile.

"SEAL team 7 at your service ma'am" Nick laughed, nodding his drink in her direction.

"Well part of it at least.." Freddie added, pulling out the empty chair beside him for Catherine to sit in..

"I was going to grab Cath and I a drink, anyone else want one?"

"McGarrett? buying a round? What's happened, you feeling okay buddy?" Nick asked, holding a hand up to Steve's forehead that was quickly swatted away.

"Funny. I'll take that as a no." Steve said and rose to his feet before turning back to Cath.

"You want to come with me?" He asked but she shook her head, taking in the large crowd of overly drunk people that had gathered around the bar- She'd rather not have to shove her way through that group.

"We'll keep an eye on her McGarrett, don't worry, we won't let her run off with anyone." Freddie said, throwing his arm round the back of her chair, smiling broadly at Steve who simply glared at him before turning away to make his way to the bar.

"The infamous Catherine Rollins...nice to finally meet you." Nick smiled at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Infamous?" She asked, noticing the smirks the three men exchanged.

"We're all big fans of yours. From what we've heard you managed to beat McGarrett in a fight..." He explained

"And as a group we'd like to thank you for handing his ass to him." Billy laughed and a warm smile began to spread across Catherine's face.

"Someone had to put him in his place" She shrugged, not even attempting to hide the proud smile that was spreading across her face. She turned her head to see Steve squeeze his way through the crowd and drop the two beers down on to the table. He pulled up an empty seat and dropped down next to her.

"What are you guys laughing at?" He asked as he noticed the matching grins on all of their faces.

"Nothing..." Billy shrugged, glancing over at Nick who also feigned ignorance.

"How does it feel to know that a girl managed to beat you in a fight, Smooth Dog?" Freddie asked him, fighting to wipe the grin of his face as the others snickered in the background. Steve rolled his eyes.

"Go on, laugh it up guys, I'd like to see one of you guys try and take her on." He replied, passing Cath her beer as he settled back into his chair, his arm loosely holding onto the back of chair, knocking Freddie's out of the way.

"Smooth dog?" Catherine asked to the smirks on the 3 men's faces.

"Yeah..." Steve drawled, suddenly massively preoccupied with peeling the label from the bottle of beer in front of him.

"You never told Catherine about your nickname?" Nick asked, a sly grin spreading across his face as Steve sent him a look.

"Nothing to tell" He shrugged, taking another mouthful of beer as he sunk slightly deeper in his chair. If Catherine didn't know better she would say he was looking slightly shy – If the exceptionally outgoing Steve McGarrett were capable of being shy.

"So you haven't told her about that time in Bangkok?" Freddie asked, leaning over to shuffle slightly closer to her.

"Bangkok?" She asked, looking over to Steve who was refusing to meet her gaze, not taking his eyes from the bottle in his hand.

"We had 12 hours of shore leave in Bangkok after a mission, before our flight back home. So he, Billy and I decided to head out to a bar, chance to unwind and relax." He explained, turning to Billy.

"So we were in this bar, loads of tourists around. Steve decides to try and chat up this girl that had been hanging around our table for a while, sending Steve some pretty smiles..." Billy continued, barely able to contain a smile.

"Turns out it wasn't _him_ she was smiling at... her boyfriend was not best pleased, and gave him a black eye for his troubles." Freddie finished, grinning over to Steve who was shaking his head.

"As it turns out, the McGarrett charm doesn't work on everyone." Billy laughed, nudging Steve in the shoulder.

"Lies, it's all lies..." Steve retorted, grinning at his own expense and Catherine couldn't help but grin at him. McGarrett's superhuman charm wasn't always so charming after all.

"Really?" Catherine asked her attention piqued as she turned to face Freddie, despite Steve's protests.

"That's just the beginning." Freddie grinned at her and Steve groaned audibly in the background.

* * *

Two rounds later they decided to call it a night. The warm thrum of alcohol pumping through their veins, their heads a little lighter. It had been a pleasant evening, Catherine couldn't remember who long it had been since she'd laughed that much. They stepped out of the bar into the cooler, quieter night.

"I don't know about you guys but I'm starving. There's a takeaway just around the block..." Freddie suggested, stretching his arms above his head, clicking his shoulders.

"Thanks, but I'm probably going to head back. It was lovely meeting you all though" Catherine replied.

"Guys?" He asked and Nick and Billy nodded in agreement.

"I'll walk Cath back" Steve said

"You don't have to, I'll be fine." Catherine interrupted, turning to face him, not wanting to drag him away from his friends.

"Yeah, she probably stands a better chance than you at fighting someone off." Billy laughed and Steve simply glared at him as the other two SEALs joined in the laughter.

"It's fine, I don't mind walking you back. I was going to head back anyway." Steve replied, turning to Catherine, ignoring the grins on the three guys' faces.

"Looking for some alone time, Smooth Dog?" Billy asked, raising an eyebrow as he glanced at the other two men, exchanging knowing looks.

"Sorry, If we'd known we were intruding on your..._catching up_... then we would have let you guys go earlier.." Freddie smirked

"We're going now." Steve replied shortly, glaring at his team mates as he gently pulled Catherine's arm and turned to walk away.

"Have fun!" Billy called after them.

"At least one of us is going to get lucky..." Nick added in a not very quiet whisper, as the three of them walked in the opposite direction, laughing at theirs team mate's expense.

"I'm sorry... they know we're just friends, but..." Steve cringed slightly at their comments as he turned to face Catherine.

"It's fine" She laughed, shivering slightly in the cool rain that had started to fall, as they began to make their way back to base. He stopped, pulling his light jacket of his shoulders and handing it over to her, draping it over her exposed arms.

"Thank you" She said quietly as they walked together, the cool rain forgotten.

"Thank you for cheering me up, for rescuing me from my miserable self pity. Thank you for introducing me to your buddies too." She continued and he turned to look at her, the rain now just a fine mist that clung as little droplets to their hair and clothes.

"Well I thought I should at least set you straight on your opinion of Freddie, I don't understand how _he_ is your type" His face screwed up in a mixture of confusion and distaste.

"True." She conceded, a wicked smile spreading across her face.

"I think Nick might be more my type after all..." She teased, the disgusted look on his face made her burst out in a fit of giggles, her loud laugh breaking the quiet that otherwise surrounded them.

"No. Do you know how weird that is? They're my best friends. No. I am not leaving you alone with any one of them, They are completely out of bounds. " He sulked, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"I'll try to restrain myself." She said between laughs and he couldn't help but join in her occasional spouts of laughter.

"Anyway, I hadn't seen you in a couple of months. It's not like I would have just ignored you." He shrugged when the laughs had finally subsided, his gaze returning to the dark road before them, lit only by the occasional lamppost that provided a little pool of yellow light.

"It's nice to catch up and chat, but you didn't look much like chatting." He continued

"I thought meeting the guys might help take your mind off of whatever was going on. You always seem to cheer me up, I thought I'd give it a try this time." He explained and she stopped placing a gentle arm on his elbow to hold him back.

"Thank you" She said, her voice a near whisper. The day hadn't been easy and all she'd wanted to do was drown the memories of another mission gone wrong. But he was right, meeting the guys had done a far better job at cheering her up. Her cheeks hurt from laughing and smiling but seeing as it was that or the killer hangover she's sure she would have had, she'll quite happily settle with that minor pain. He smiled, pulling her into a hug, pressing his face into her hair, cherishing the warmth of the hug.

"And congratulations. I heard you got promoted" He said, pulling back slightly, his arms still looped around her shoulders as he smiled down at her.

"Yeah, you been keeping tabs on me?" She smiled back

"Why do you think I asked the guys to meet me in that bar Lieutenant? Well, Junior Lieutenant _technically_ I guess, still not quite as good as me." He continued as she thumped his chest lightly and they pulled apart grinning.

"You couldn't wait to see me, could you?" She teased

"No..." He admitted, smiling softly as he dropped his arms from her shoulders, gently running them down her arms.

"I'm glad you're back" She said quietly, she had truly missed the easiness that they understanding. Their silent conversations, consisting of only knowing looks.

"Me too... It's nice to finally have someone to meet when I get back" He admitted quietly as they continued their walk back.

"How long do you have?" She asked after a moment.

"I've got another 8 hours" He said quietly, gaze dropping to the damp ground beneath them.

"You'll be wanting some sleep then." She said as they approached the base, the lights of some of the buildings in the massive complex now visible. Sometimes she really hated the fact that they only ever seemed to be in the same place for a couple of hours, she hated having to say goodbye again before she'd even finished saying hello.

"I'll survive a little longer. I want to hear about what you've been doing the past months, aside from missing me..."

"And getting promoted.." She added and he laughed softly.

"Besides, you owe me a beer" He continued and she shot him a questioning glance, raising her eyebrow.

"I bought you one, your turn to buy me one" He shrugged and she laughed.

"Do you know how much of the time I spend with you involves alcohol?" She asked

"Not enough. Come on" He replied, his pace picking up as he glanced over his shoulder at her.

"We have two and a half months to catch up on."

"Is that two and a half months of talking or drinking?" She asked, speeding up to catch up with him. He shrugged and she couldn't help but grin at his sideways glance.

"I have never been much of a talking guy."

"You're turning me into an alcoholic McGarrett..."

"You're bubblier when you drink. I like it" He admitted, shrugging as she slipped her arm through his.

"Really?" She drawled, enjoying the warmth of his side as the rain began to fall a little harder, soaking through their clothes. He ducked his head, smiling slightly. They walked more lazily, shoulders bumping due to their intertwined arms.

"You're a complete pain otherwise... only way I can put up with you."

"Shut up McGarrett, you're lucky I give you the time of day" She snorted.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, You love me." He informed her.

"Sure..."

* * *

**A:N/ Thank you for reading! This one is a little shorter but I hope you enjoyed it all the same! Please review and until next time- Aloha!**


	4. Real Courage

**A/N: Thank you for all your lovely lovely reviews- greatly appreciated. Enjoy the new chapter! **

* * *

_**Real Courage**_

_**.**_

"_I wanted you to see wha__t real courage i__s, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.__"_

.

_Ramstein Air Base, Germany – September 2005. _

Catherine flicked through the stack of papers she had to complete, sighing to herself. She had arrived in Germany a little under a month ago, drafted in to help assist with intelligence work for AIRCOM. She had never had so much work to do before and as a result she was absolutely exhausted. Setting the papers back down on her desk she glanced up at the large clock on the wall of the now empty office. It was nearing 22.00 she sighed as she pushed her chair away from the desk, standing to roll out the kinks in her back and neck as she stretched her tired limbs. She'd been there since 6 that morning and frankly wanted nothing more than to go back to her room, curl up in her bed, and sleep for a hundred years...maybe two. She grabbed her bag from under desk and headed for the door, she had had enough for the night. She loved her work, but you have to draw the line somewhere. Stepping out into the cool night air she was surprised to see a flurry of activity on the base, a plane had clearly landed recently and there were several officers and other personnel running around. Heading towards the activity she grabbed the attention of a young airman.

"What's all the fuss about" She asked, spotting more men running in and out the hanger. The base wasn't dead at night, but there was never normally this amount of activity.

"We had a couple of guys just flown in, heading for Landstuhl." He explained.

"Oh, Air Force?" She asked, her interest piqued.

"No. Couple of SEALs" Catherine's blood began to run cold, a shiver of worry dancing up her spine.

"SEALs? They're not normally flown here"

"Yeah, two injured. Doesn't look good either, they were deployed out in the Middle East somewhere, this was the closest US military hospital I guess." He shrugged, glancing back down at the clipboard he was carrying in his hand.

"You don't happen to know which SEAL team it was do you?"

"I'm pretty sure they said it was team 7" He replied, shrugging slightly. Her heart leapt to her throat as his words sank in- it was Steve's team.

She had raced to Landstuhl, praying that it wasn't him, that it wasn't any of his buddies either. Clearly she hadn't been praying hard enough. Freddie had taken a shot to the lower abdomen and lost a lot of blood. Steve, well, he'd made it through surgery- just. So maybe some of her prayer had been heard after all. She entered the room, quietly slipping through the door into the darkened room. She could make out the shape of his body lying on the bed, unmoving. She walked closer, the sound of the ventilator clicking loudly in the otherwise silent room. His face was pale, his skin waxy in appearance. There were large dark rings under his eyes and his normally tanned skin was marred with a multitude of bruises that contrasted with the white band that secured the ventilating tube in it's place. The bed sheets were pulled down to his waist, bandages were wrapped around the majority of his torso but she could see the deep purple bruises poking out from underneath. She ran her hand slowly through his matted hair, watching his chest rise and fall in time with the clicking of the machine. She sat back in the seat by his head, taking his hand in hers, careful not to knock the various IV ports that he was hooked up to. She gently turned his palm over, tracing the lines with her finger, brushing over the callouses and blisters. She placed his hand gently back to rest on the bed by his thigh, interlacing her fingers with his as she rubbed small circles in his palm. He looked small. It wasn't a word she would ever think of using to describe him normally, but then again he was hardly in his normal state. Surrounded by the masses of medical equipment, the ventilator, the monitors, the IVs – he looked fragile, and it terrified her. She had barely heard what the doctor's had told her in her rush to get to his room. She'd heard more than she needed to from Steve's commanding officer, Commander White, who had left just as she was arriving. He had been captured by a group of hostiles and tortured, the beating he had received was nothing he hadn't been trained to cope with but Catherine couldn't help the shake in her hand as she traced her hands over the bandages around his chest, the dressings hiding the hideous electrical burns they had inflicted on him. She dropped her hand back down to his arm, there were several nicks and scrapes on his arms that had been left to heal in the open, but her entire attention was focused on the small bandage wound around his neck. Small and inconspicuous, easy to miss amongst the vast array of injuries. It was funny, in a twisted and slightly morbid way, that it was often the smallest of injuries that did the most damage. It only takes one bullet, one well aimed bullet. Catherine inhaled deeply, fighting to steady her breaths as her throat closed up, the panic and worry chocking her up. The team had gone in to rescue Steve, Freddie had taken a shot to the lower abdomen and as Steve had dropped down to help him, that one well aimed bullet had found him. It had been a through and through, just missing his carotid artery as it sliced through the side of his neck. The team had tried to stop some of the bleeding but he had arrested on them twice before they managed to finally get him back to base, where they had performed a quick patch-up and flown him straight out to Landstuhl. Her fingers tracing the outline of the dressing over the wound, the slightly coarse texture tickling her soft skin. He was alive. Not quite breathing, not on his own. But alive. Glancing down at her watch she realised the time, she'd waited nearly five hours before she was allowed to see him. She hated leaving him, but she knew he wouldn't be waking any time soon. They had placed him in a medically induced coma, it was to give his body a chance to heal, or so she'd been told. She'd zoned out after the word coma, the rest of the words just washing over her. She leaned forward, brushing a light kiss against his forehead as she gave his hand a final squeeze, smoothing his ruffled hair down with her other hand.

"Sweet dreams, Sailor"

* * *

She knocked lightly on the door before pushing it slowly open.

"Rollins?" He greeted as she entered the room. He was propped up against an array of pillows, paler than normal, but looked enough like himself.

"Hey Freddie."

"What are you doing here? Not that it's not nice to see you and all..." He asked and she smiled, moving to sit in the chair next to his bed.

"I've been based in Ramstein for the past month, doing intelligence work" She explained and he nodded.

"I assume you've already been along to see McGarrett?" He asked, his voice lowered, a worried frown appearing on his face. She nodded.

"How is he?"

"He's on a ventilator, his body's under a lot of strain at the minute, they want to wait till he's improved slightly." She explained, her eyes dropping to her lap were her hands fiddled with a loose thread in her skirt.

"Surgery went well, they patched him up pretty good. They're keeping him in intensive care for the time being though, they're worried about infection so they have him on a load of antibiotics." She continued and Freddie nodded slowly at the new information before sighing heavily.

"How about you?" She asked looking back up at him and he smiled weakly.

"I'm good, bullet hit me below my vest, nicked my appendix so they've cut it out. Not like I needed it much anyway" He shrugged and Cath smiled at his attempts to lighten the situation.

"True"

"I take it you know what happened?" He asked, his voice slightly hushed again as if he didn't want anyone to overhear their conversation.

"I know they tortured him, and you both got shot in the crossfire when you went in to get him out..." Freddie nodded, shifting slightly in his bed as he turned towards her, the worried frown returning to his face.

"It all went wrong... by the time we found him and the hostiles. His face Cath, you could barely recognise him." He whispered, trying to wipe away the haunting images that were burned into his memory, reappearing every time he dared to close his eyes.

"Then it started, there were bullets going everywhere, I got to him and tried to pull him out of the way. They'd taken all his gear so he had no protection. I managed to get him out of the line of fire and then I got hit." He continued.

"The guy was close range, had spotted me helping Steve. I fell and dropped my gun, what sort of idiot drops their gun?" He looked up at Catherine, a desperate look in his distraught face and she finally pieced it together.

"The hostile was aiming for you..." She whispered as the realisation dawned.

"Steve was coherent enough to know what was going on, I didn't have a chance to reach for my back-up, the guy was right there with the gun pointed back at me. Steve practically threw himself over me, I don't know if he was going for my weapon or what. I froze, I thought I was going to die...If Steve hadn't taken that bullet, from the angle it hit him, I would be a dead man." He finished. Catherine felt almost dizzy with the revelation of how very close they both came to not making it back. It wasn't a reality she ever wanted to face and the thought that it very nearly had happened made her feel physically sick. She knew what being a SEAL meant, she knew that it meant being away for long periods of time, she knew it meant that they risked being injured, she knew it also meant that they may leave on a deployment and never make it home again. It was a sobering reality all military personnel were faced with. Death was always lurking over your shoulder and if you blinked at the wrong time, just for one second, it could all be over before you know what even hit you – They say you never hear the shot that kills you.

"Steve's a tough guy" She whispered, forcing an encouraging smile on her face as she looked back at him.

"He'll pull through" She continued, though she was no longer sure who she was trying to comfort with her words.

* * *

"McGarrett?" The voice answered as her call connected and Cath smiled slightly at the similarity in their voices.

"John McGarrett? This is Lieutenant Catherine Rollins... I am a friend of Steve's" She explained, waiting with a baited breath for the other man's response.

"Oh."

"It's about Steve" She added quickly and she could hear the small but sharp intake of breath at the other end of the line.

"Where is he?" John asked quietly

"He's in Landstuhl Sir, he was flown in yesterday." She explained

"How bad is it?"

"He was tortured, he has a lot of bruising and superficial cuts. No broken bones thankfully, but he also received some more serious burns." She told him, reciting exactly what the doctor had told her earlier.

"Is he awake?" He asked

"No, he was placed in a medically induced coma after surgery..."

"Surgery? I thought..."

"He was shot in the neck." She exhaled heavily and was met by silence on the other end of the phone.

"It missed all his arteries, and they said there won't be any long term damage... He was lucky." Her voice trailing off at the end. It had been close, only a matter of millimetres, and that was not a train of thought she wanted to entertain. He was safe and he was alive, that was what was important, not the grim what ifs.

"They're weaning him off the anaesthesia, hopefully he'll wake in the next few days." She explained.

"He'll be okay?" John asked, a slight waver in his voice

"Yeah, they think so." Her own voice catching as she thought back to the wounded man she had seen lying in the hospital bed.

"Okay" He whispered and she could hear the relief in his voice.

"I just thought you should know... I wasn't sure if anyone had called so.." She explained and they lapsed into silence, neither sure what to say to the other.

"Lieutenant Rollins?" She heard him add just as she was moving her phone from her ear.

"Sir?"

"Thank you" He said simply, his voice hushed and she smiled even as the dial tone began to sound in her ear.

* * *

Cath walked through the quiet corridors towards his room. The route had become so familiar, she'd visited him after work, every day for the past week that he'd been in here. She pushed open the door and entered, it took her a couple of seconds to realise that there was someone else in the room. A large figure loomed over Steve's bed, watching over him silently. The figure turned towards her and she relaxed, recognising him quickly.

"Commander White" Catherine greeted saluting him as he nodded before turning his attention back to Steve.

"Lieutenant Rollins I presume" He drawled as she moved to stand next to him.

"Has he woken up yet?" She asked quietly

"No. Not yet. They think he has an infection in the neck wound, he has had a rather persistent fever" He said quietly.

"They've put him on a higher dosage of the antibiotics, we just have to wait now to see if it works. The rest of the team were flown back to Coronado today, Freddie was released from hospital earlier in the day." He turned to face her

"Apparently you've been checking up on Steve regularly." He added, raising an eyebrow at her before turning back to the man in the bed before them. She paused, glancing at him before she responded.

"I come by when I can, normally when I finish work... He's a good friend." She explained, her voice dropping to a near whisper at the end, they had known each other for less than a year, yet he was probably her closest friend. Commander White nodded.

"He's a good man." Catherine could only smile and nod in agreement, unable to trust her voice not to betray her.

"I'll give you some peace. Till next time" He turned back to her, exchanging salutes before he gave Steve a final glance and nod then turned and left, the door clicking shut quietly behind him.

* * *

"_Lieutenant Rollins?"_

"_Speaking"_

"_This is Dr Keller, I'm calling to inform you that Lieutenant McGarrett woke up this afternoon."_

Catherine had rushed through the rest of her work desperate to get over to the hospital as quickly as she could. She had to fight not to give into the urge to run through the hospital corridors. He was awake, he was finally awake. She paused just outside his door, debating whether or not to knock, but eventually just pushed it open.

"Hey" Catherine greeted as she pushed the door open, poking her head round to see him slightly propped up by his pillow. He was pale under his tan and now that he was awake and his eye's finally open it only seemed to accentuate the dark circles under his eyes.

"Hi" He smiled back as she walked over to him, a familiar frown appearing on his face.

"What are you..." He began his voice was weak and raspy, like a hoarse whisper.

"I've been based in Ramstein for the past month, assisting in some intelligence work that I had experience in." She explained quickly and the frown transformed into a small smile.

"How are the others?" Steve asked, shifting to turn towards her slightly more.

"They flew back to Coronado yesterday. Freddie was the only other one injured, they patched him up and he was fine. It was you everyone was concerned about." She explained and he nodded.

"How are you?" He asked, sliding sightly further down the pillows.

"How am I? You're the one in a hospital bed Steve, that's the question I should be asking you." She laughed softly because that was typical of him. You could probably chop his arm off and he'd still be asking if you're little paper cut was okay. He frowned at her and she conceded.

"I'm fine Steve, all the better for seeing you awake." She promised him and he smiled at her, not his normal smile but a proper grin.

"What?" She asked at the small grin on his face.

"You called me Steve, twice, You never call me Steve." He smiled.

"Shut up McGarrett"

"You love me" He smiled goofily up at her as his head dropped back to the pillow his eyes falling closed. She snorted softly, her first genuine smile in the week and a half he'd been here.

"You keep telling yourself that"

* * *

"How are you doing today?" She asked as she entered his room, he was sat as he normally was, slightly propped up.

"Better, my throat doesn't feel like sandpaper any more and I can sort of move my neck." He said, shrugging and then immediately wincing in pain.

"I called your Dad" She blurted out suddenly and he looked at her, raising an eyebrow. She'd been wanting to tell him since he'd woken up, but wasn't sure the best time or place to tell him. So she'd gone for her old favourite of just blurting it out at random.

"What, just now?" He asked

"No, a couple of days after you arrived."She explained, approaching his bed.

"Why?" She paused for a second, was he being serious?

"You had been shot in the neck Steve, you were on a ventilator, you'd been tortured, you were in a medically induced coma..." She said, ticking them off on her fingers as she went.

"He's not been a part of my life for 12 years now, why would you call him?"

"Because he's your father Steve, he cares about you." She said exasperated, he simply scoffed in response.

"If he was genuinely worried, then he would be here."

"That's not fair Steve"

"You're here, He could be here if he wanted."

"Steve..." She pleaded but he ignored her, choosing instead, to change the topic.

"They want me to take some new medication." Catherine sighed, he was a lovely guy but he could also be a royal pain in the ass,

"What medication?" She asked, sighing lightly as she dropped onto his bed.

"Paroxetine."

"Isn't that a drug for PTSD?" She asked, confused. Steve nodded.

"How are you finding it?" She asked

"I'm not taking it."

"Why?" She questioned slowly, not following his train of thought.

"I don't have PTSD Cath, I don't need the medication."

"You were tortured though. They're going to organise appointments with the shrink for when you get back to Coronado about that as well." Catherine added and Steve shot her a look.

"Shrink?" He questioned, his face showing that he was far from impressed by the idea.

"Yeah, it's standard procedure..." She continued but he interrupted her.

"It's just a couple of bruises Cath, I'm a SEAL, It's nothing." His tone harsh as he shifted away from her.

"Bruises? You were _tortured_ and then shot Steve. They used a cattle prod on you and heaven know what else_._ You nearly died. Yeah you're a SEAL, but that doesn't make you invincible, it doesn't make you immune to pain or what ever those sick people did to you. Admitting that doesn't make you weak."

"I'm fine" He grumbled, pulling the sheet till it was tucked up under his arms.

"Yeah, and I'm the Queen of England..." Catherine drawled. She sighed heavily, moving into the chair beside his bed.

"Steve, why won't you let people help you?" She asked and he rolled away from her, facing the window. He was deliberately being difficult- again.

"Are you seriously just going to pretend it didn't happen?" She received no response.

"Fine" She said, standing and turning for the door. Steve remained in his rigid position, refusing to look in her direction.

"There are a lot of people, myself included, who care about you Steve. Do you have any idea how close we came to losing you? Do you have _any _idea? I know you think you're all alone in the world Steve, but you're not. Do you have any idea how scared I was when I found out you had coded _twice_ on your way over? I was petrified that I would get here and be told that my best friend had died on the operating table. I sat here, waiting every free minute I had, waiting for you to wake up, waiting for them to switch off that damn ventilator and for you to breathe on your own. So I'm sorry if I want to help and be supportive Steve. I'm sorry if everyone else wants to do the same, I'm sorry if that's a problem for you but I'm not backing off, because I care enough that I would quite like to keep you around on this earth a little longer and you don't seem to be doing a very good job of looking after yourself. And there is more to looking after yourself than just the physical side, yeah, maybe those are only cuts and bruises. Sure, they'll heal. That doesn't change the fact you were tortured and don't you _dare_ try to hide behind you're SEAL training and claim you are fine. That sort of thing messes people up if you don't get help and lord knows you have enough problems to deal with already." She vented, turning back on him the fire eventually dying out as she finished her speech, the emotional strain had taken it's toll and she simply felt exhausted. She ran her hand down her tired face, looking back up at him. He was staring at her, his face slightly fallen, an odd look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry" He whispered as he looked at her and she let out the last of her pent up breath. She walked back over to his bed, dropping down beside him, their thighs brushing. Steve was never big on words, with anyone, but for once he seemed to have got the message she had tried to get across to him.

"I'm really not worth that much..." He continued quietly, a sad smile on his face.

"Yes. You are. You are worth so much, to me, to your team. To your Dad..." She silenced him, her hand reaching up to brush through his hair gently. He broke eye contact with her at the mention of his father, swallowing slightly as he cleared his throat. She pulled her hand back but he looked back at her.

"That feels nice." He said simply, smiling weakly at her. He was a sight, like a little boy with a content smile on his tired face, the sheet tucked up over his body as she continued to glide her hand through his hair. His eyes began to drop closed and she couldn't help but smile, granted he could sometimes be a massive pain in the ass, but he was a sweet guy who had been through a hell of a lot of crap in his life and it lifted her spirits slightly, knowing that he trusted her enough to let his walls down and give him this small comfort.

"I'll leave you to rest" She said after a while, pulling her hand back slightly and his eye's shot back open.

"Five more minutes?" He mumbled, pleading weakly as he shifted his head to nudge her hand. She dropped down on the bed, continuing the soothing motions. His eyes closed again, his face relaxing once more, a faint smile on his lips.

"No alcohol" He murmured and Cath's hand stilled.

"What?"

"You were moaning last time about the fact that there's always alcohol involved when we see each other." He explained, his eye's still closed as he shifted against the cool pillow. She laughed at the random thought.

"I'd rather have alcohol than hospital visits any day."

* * *

"I'm leaving" She said after a pause. The pair had been sat watching the small TV that sat in the corner of Steve's private room.

"How much longer do you have here?" He asked, turning his attention from the small TV screen back to her and she sighed.

"I finished all my work here yesterday evening, I'm flying out tonight" She said, glancing at her watch.

"To Coronado?"

"No. I'm being transferred to the USS. Kitty Hawk..." She admitted quietly.

"Oh" Steve said, nodding slightly as his face fell into a frown.

"You probably won't be in Coronado for a while then" He added and she shook her head.

"I'll be based out of Yokosuka from now on." She explained quietly and Steve nodded slowly in silence, the sobering realisation hitting him. She was going to be an ocean away, permanently.

"I'll miss you" He admitted quietly, fingers brushing over the hand that lay by his thigh, slipping his fingers in between hers. She smiled up at him, squeezing his hand in response.

"I'll miss you too" She said quietly.

"How are we doing this afternoon?" Cath jumped up from her perch on the bed at the sudden entrance of the nurse, but Steve kept a firm grip on her hand, anchoring her to his bedside.

"Oh Sorry, I didn't realise you had company." The small woman smiled up at Catherine, before turning back to the various files and charts she carried in her hands.

"I've come to give you your next dose of morphine." She smiled down at Steve who grunted in response, shifting to try and sit himself up better. Catherine moved quickly, helping him pull himself up and arrange him more comfortably against the pillows.

"How's the pain been today?" The nurse asked and Steve shrugged

"4?" He suggested and the nurse nodded, scribbling quickly on the file she had open.

"Well this will be your last dose before we get you settled down for bed, the doctor will be around just before dinner to check up on you" She smiled gently, as she began to busy herself with the IV port in Steve's other hand. Steve turned his head to smile awkwardly up at her, running his free hand through his hair.

"All done, I'll leave you to it." The nurse smiled, nodding to the pair of them before shuffling back out of the room. The pair waved at her quietly and Cath turned back to face Steve who had closed his eye's leaning back against the propped up pillows. She coughed quietly, clearing her throat and he blinked open his eyes to look at her again.

"I should probably go actually, I haven't packed yet..." She said weakly

"Cath" He grabbed her wrist, pulling her back towards him, smiling as he opened his arms. She smiled and leant forward, gently holding him in a loose hug, careful of his injuries. She could feel his chest rumbling with laughter, and she pulled back lightly to look at his face in confusion.

"I'm not going to break Cath, I'm sure I'll survive a hug" He said, smiling broadly, but the smile not fully reaching his eyes, sadness tinting the corners of the smile. This was goodbye, not forever, but for a lot longer than either of them wanted. She smiled back at him and hugged him again, holding him tightly as she dropped her head to his shoulder, enjoying the feel of his cooler skin against her cheek. She could feel the tickle of his breath against the back of neck from where his head was buried in her hair. She inhaled deeply, relaxing against him as he pulled her in tighter, dropping a light kiss to the top of her head.

"I'm going to have to find a new drinking partner" He said, his words slightly muffled by her hair and she pulled back again.

"You replacing me already?" She asked, her eyebrow raised in question but a smile on her lips at his attempt to lighten the situation.

"Never" He whispered, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, then tracing his finger gently down her jaw before dropping it back into his lap. She smiled at his honesty, it was one of his few faults if you could even call it one - he was far too honest.

"Look after yourself, no more getting shot in the neck." She ordered as she rose to her feet again, brushing of the imaginary dust.

"I'll do my best Lieutenant, as long as you do the same." He smiled back at her.

"I will." She promised, picking her bag up from the floor as she turned for the door. She paused, her hand on the door handle and turned to face him. The bruises had begun to fade to a green-yellow shade and he was still wrapped in a multitude of bandages, he was sat smiling fondly at her and she couldn't help but smile warmly back despite his battered appearance.

"Aloha" He said quietly, relaxing back against the mountain of pillows, eyes focused solely on her even as the drugs began to take effect.

"Aloha Steve."

* * *

_Hong Kong – November 2005 (3 weeks later)_

Cath was pulled from her sleep by the loud ringing of her cell on her night stand. She fumbled blindly for the phone but couldn't find it, sighing she rolled over, trying to untangle herself from the bed sheets as she flicked the small lamp on. Spotting her phone on the floor, clearly having fallen off the table when she was searching for it, she reached down and picked it up, answering it without checking the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Hey, It's Steve...Did I wake you?"

"It's fine" She croaked, rolling over to sit up in her bed, scrubbing her hand down her face, rubbing the exhaustion from her eyes.

"Sorry" His reply quiet.

"Where are you?" She asked as she rose from her bed, stretching her tired joints.

"Ramstein. They released me earlier. I've got a months leave to recuperate." He sighed and she smiled at his almost dejected tone.

"I think you're the only person I've met who doesn't enjoy getting an extra month off" She smiled and he grunted in admission.

"Nothing to do" He said and she could almost picture him shrugging as he said it.

"I think that's the point of R&R Steve..." She smiled, trying not to laugh.

"You're in Hong Kong right now aren't you?" He said, out of the blue.

"Why am I getting the vibe that there was more to this phone call than just catching up?" She teased, settling back against her pillow, playing with a loose thread on the sheet.

"Well, I was just thinking..." His voice trailing off at the end

"Don't hurt yourself." She interrupted, enjoying the sound of his laughter.

"It's just you have a couple days leave coming up..."

"How do you know that?"

"I have my ways" He replied and she could hear the smugness in his voice.

"Right...So what was the special reason for calling..."

"I thought we could meet up somewhere halfway, I wasn't sure when we would next end up in the same time zone, what with you being based in Japan now..." He explained, his tone nonchalant but she could hear the emotion underneath – he wanted to see her, as he had said, who knows when they would next meet otherwise. She paused for a minute, smiling to herself.

"I'd love to"

* * *

**A:N/ Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you think! :)**


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